Atlas Obscura has been in the making since 2009, and the years of research shows in this incredible travel guide/catalogue of the bizarre. Originally launched as a website, the team of authors behind this project scoured the globe for the strangest, most fascinating, most intriguing people/places/things ever. It’s hard to classify just what kinds of things this book presents, suffice to say that most of them probably won’t show up in your average Fodor’s or Lonely Planet guides.

Here’s a sample of what you’ll find among this book’s 600 entries: a lightbulb that’s been burning for over 100 years tucked away in a fire station. Self-mummifying monks. An island in the Caribbean inhabited solely by pigs. A single tree in a vast desert. A Cathedral of Junk. A gigantic sinkhole in the middle of a city.

I love this kind of book, and always have. It’s the strange and mysterious places, off the beaten path, that can be the most fun to travel to. This book has so many great ideas for finding those hidden treasures, the “can you believe it?” places you love to tell your friends about. It’s a book to buy, treasure, and reference for years.